I was originally planning on runnings Syrians using the lists in 'Oil War', and started repainting my T-72s for this purpose. The thinking here was that Soviet T-72s aren't a particularly strong choice relative to later books. In the end, the Syrian force was too large a challenge in the time I had available, so I painted up my remaining T-64s and went with Soviets instead.
My final list was:
T-64 Tank Battalion - Red Thunder
Battalion HQ - 1 x T-64, 6pts
T-64 Company - 3 x T-64, 13pts
T-64 Company - 3 x T-64, 13pts
T-64 Company - 3 x T-64, 13pts
BMP-1 Motor Rifle Company - Medium size plus SA-14 Gremlin, 15pts
BMP-2 Recon Platoon - 3 x BMP-2 Scout, 5pts
SA-13 Gopher Platoon - 2 x Gopher, 2pts
Shilka AA Platoon - 4 x Shilka, 4pts
2S1 Carnation SP Howitzer Battery - 6 x 2S1 Carnation, 10pts
Hail Rocket Launcher Battery - 6 x BM-21 Hail, 8pts
BMP-1 Observation Post, 1pt
Hind Helicopter Company - 4 x Hind, 10pts
Total Cost: 100 pts
- I only have ten T-64s in my collection, and running them in three groups of three saves 5pts relative to having two larger units.
- The Shilkas are a must have, and I went with Gophers over Gaskins due to the extra range being of use on the wider table.
- 2nd Edition gives a big bump to the effectiveness of artillery, so I decided to maximise this by taking both Carnations and Hails, plus the observer.
- I have found minimum sized infantry units to be too small in the past, so have gone up a size. The Gremlin was a cheap addition to further boost my AA cover.
- The BMP-2 scouts are extra AT-21, plus Spearhead for the few missions that can use it.
- The big unit of Hinds was to provide an alternative to having to punch through the front of high armour targets.
The standard of painting was very high across the board, making it one of the best looking competitions I can remember playing in.
This was the first Soviet build that I felt has worked for me. Largely this is because T-64s are good. Very good. That extra point of front armour, plus the 14" tactical move, makes them far superior to the Soviet T-72, and the three platoons of three definitely felt better than two larger platoons. The biggest problem I had was when I ran into McBeth's Stillbrew Chieftains - the 7-2 loss. Front 18 at range is tough for AT22 to crack. Ten tanks vs eight, but harder to hit and firing twice as many dice in return. That's a matchup that I'm going to need to rethink, even more so as we start to see Front 20 Challengers make an appearance.
I had too much artillery. Over the weekend they killed:
- a platoon of Fliegerfaust (both batteries repeating on them for a couple of turns),
- a couple of Sheridans (Carnations with lucky armour saves),
- a platoon of T-64s (shotgunned in the back by the Carnations arriving from Reserve)
- a landed Blackhawk (Hails), and
- a few infantry teams caught in the open (Hails).
Getting the right quantity and mix of air defence is tricky. I had 7pts of it, and it simply wasn't enough in the two games where I ran into aircraft. This particularly relates to my final game against Pooch. He had brought 34pts of air: four A10s and four Cobras, and my air defence just didn't faze him. This was underscored late in the game when, hunting a company break, he rolled his A10s directly at my Gophers and GAUed them out of existence without even being scratched. I had benefitted in the same way in earlier games, ending up not too worried about Humvee Stingers, and I was even okay against Pooch's VADS, which I managed to get running from left to right throughout the game, minimising their shots and keeping rolling saves for my Hinds. It all came apart when they finally got 28 shots off in a turn, but it highlighted two problems: the short range of gun AA (which was a major factor on our 8x4 tables), and the number of dice you need to be rolling to make FP5+ AA effective. Playing the same format again, I would probably look to move another six points into AA: two more Gophers and a pair of Geckos, funded by dropping the Hails. It's 13pts that is wasted if my opponent doesn't bring air, but it's better than feeling helpless in the few games where they do.
T-64 Tank Battalion - Red Thunder
Battalion HQ - 1 x T-64, 6pts
T-64 Company - 3 x T-64, 13pts
T-64 Company - 3 x T-64, 13pts
T-64 Company - 3 x T-64, 13pts
BMP-1 Motor Rifle Company - Medium size plus SA-14 Gremlin, 15pts
BMP-2 Recon Platoon - 4 x BMP-2 Scout, 6pts
SA-13 Gopher Platoon - 4 x Gopher, 4pts
Shilka AA Platoon - 4 x Shilka, 4pts
2S1 Carnation SP Howitzer Battery - 6 x 2S1 Carnation, 10pts
BMP-1 Observation Post, 1pt
SA-8 Gecko Platoon - 2 x Gecko, 4pts
Hind Helicopter Company - 4 x Hind, 10pts
Total Cost: 100 ptsIt’s largely similar, reflecting how well I think it performed overall. I haven't really resolved the high Front Armour problem yet, with the temptation being to chuck in a platoon of Storms, but that's not a huge gain: two or three dice at 4s or 5s to hit, with Firepower 3+, so you would still be lucky to kill one tank a turn, and they're easily hit in return. And I would also like a few more T-64s, maybe upping the platoons to four tanks each, but that's 18pts that I simply don't think I can spare - everything else has an important role to play.
Next week is the end of January, so I will post an update about how I am progressing with my goals for the year.
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